This Lestat is Better than Tom Cruise - The Skeletons of Scarborough House Review

She’s
single, addicted to sugar and super heroes, her family are officially
bonkers, and she sees dead people. Is it any wonder no-one’s swiping
right on Tinder? Waking up lonely on her twenty seventh birthday,
Melody finally snaps. She can’t carry on basing all of her life
decisions on the advice of her magic 8 ball; things have got to change.

Fast
forward two months, and she’s now the proud proprietor of her very own
ghostbusting agency - kind of like in the movies but without the dodgy
white jumpsuits. She’s also flirting with her ex Leo Dark, fraternising
with her enemy in alleyways, and she’s somehow ended up with a pug
called Lestat.

Life just went from dull to dynamite and it’s
showing no sign of slowing up anytime soon. Melody’s been hired to clear
Scarborough House of its incumbent ghosts, there’s the small matter of a
murder to solve, and then there’s the two very handsome, totally
inappropriate men hoping to distract her from the job…

Welcome
to Chapelwick, home of the brand new and hilarious Girls Ghostbusting
Agency series, where things really do go bump in the night.

MY THOUGHTS:"The
Skeletons of Scarborough House" is a wonderful start to a new cozy
mystery series by Kitty French. My friend Stormi recommended I pick it
up and I couldn't wait to start it once I learned of the cute pug named
Lestat. Melody Bittersweet, her mother and her grandmother can all see
and communicate with ghosts. Melody does not want to follow in the
Bittersweet family business and pass on ghostly messages to those left
behind so she decides to start a ghostbusting agency. She hires her best
friend Marina and a newcomer, Artie, to be her assistants and the fun
ensues.

Melody is snarky and quirky and funny - all the things I
was desperately in need of at the time of reading. She is hired to get
rid of the ghosts at Scarborough House, a local historical home, so the
owner has hopes of selling it. However, the owner has also hired
Melody's ex, Leo Dark, who can also communicate with ghosts, to do the
same thing and the winner gets all the payout. There are three brothers
currently haunting Scarborough house and Melody must uncover what is
keeping these astral beings tied to the family homestead.

French
weaves a very interesting mystery tale effortlessly with a wonderful
cast of zany characters. Melody is 95% over Leo Dark, especially when
she realizes she has "the hots" for Fletch, the skeptical journalist,
who has spent his entire career trying to prove the Bittersweets are
frauds. In fact, Lestat, the adorable yet obnoxious pug, enters the
scene because in a fit of anger with Fletch, Melody tells him she has a
dog, when she doesn't. Therefore, she rescues Lestat from a local
shelter and is soon convinced he is the embodiment of an old gangster
out to get her and further complicate her life. All this being said, my
favorite character hands down, besides Lestat, has to be Artie. Melody
is convinced to hire Artie after a visit from Artie's deceased father
asking that she help provide his son with a purpose in life. Artie
starts the book with low self esteem but through the course of the book,
grows and evolves into a lovable character who is best compared to
Shaggy from Scooby-Doo.

If you haven't already figured it out,
there is a whole cast of nutty and offbeat characters in "The Skeletons
of Scarborough House." The mystery is exciting and I was pleased with
the ending of the book. If you don't like love triangles or romantic
interests in books, then this one might annoy you somewhat but basically
it's not overdone and Melody really is trying to move on from Leo. Plus
she and Fletch as such an unlikely couple that one can't help but cheer
them on. Of course, it remains to be seen if he and Melody will get
past their differences. I'm anxiously wanting to read book two and can
see it being done sooner rather than later.

I think Lestat might be the most adorable name for a pug ever. I am envisioning long blonde hair and a pug face at the moment lol What a wonderful eclectic cast of characters this is! Wonderful review!

It's not really much of a love triangle and you will see that in book two. It's just that Leo was her first love and I think a part of her will always be pulled his way even if she likes Flecher. :) Lestat and Artie are two of my favs! I am really glad you enjoyed this one. I am curious of your thoughts on the next one.

It seems I finally found the gap in out long commonalty list sista! I have not been able to get into cozy mysteries yet. I think I have read a couple without knowing they were cozies though. It seems the MCs are usually snarky and funny which I love so I should try it for real! :)